Beauty and the Beast roars to record-breaking $170M debut

Emma Watson stars as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast in Disney s Beauty and the Beast. (Walt Disney Studios)

Sun., March 19, 2017

Disney’s live-action Beauty was a beast at the box office, opening with an estimated $170 million in North American ticket sales and setting a new high mark for family movies.

According to studio estimates Sunday, Beauty and the Beast blew past the previous record-holder for G- or PG-rated releases. Last year, Disney’s Finding Dory debuted with $135 million.

Beauty and the Beast, made for about $160 million, is the latest effort by Disney to re-create one of its animated classics with live action and digital effects. It follows previous remakes such as Cinderella, Maleficent and last year’s The Jungle Book.

This Beauty and the Beast, directed by Bill Condon, found widespread acclaim and some backlash for including what Condon called Disney’s first openly gay character.

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